Awakened Feelings and Tango Lessons
by LileyKigoSpashleyRizzslesLover
Summary: Jane discovers, during a unique situation, that she has more than friendly feelings towards her best friend. A while later, jealousy rears its ugly head. Jane/Maura. Oneshot.


A/N: This is done for the suggestion that Butterflies of Beauty sent in. And I was going to respond to your review like I do for everyone else but you had that feature disabled so I'll do it here: I had actually been thinking about doing something like this since that episode aired but I wasn't sure how I could do it and I figured that it had probably already been done by someone else. Also, I am very honored you keep re-reading "Fake Turned Real", thanks for that!

XXXXX Two Months Ago XXXXX

"Where's your uniform?" Maura asked as Jane stayed put on the couch. Figuring the detective wasn't going to be of much help she ventured into the bedroom. She was horror struck at the piles of clothes and trash present. "Oh! It is disgusting in here!"

In the living room, Jane smirked. It faded quickly, however, when Maura reentered, uniform in hand.

"Put this on." The M.E. demanded.

"It makes me look like a man." She protested, turning back to her computer to continue her browsing.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." She said, completely serious and determined to get the other woman in the uniform.

Jane sighed and turned to face the doctor. "I'm not a hero, Maura. Shooting yourself is not heroic."

"The people of Boston think it is!"

"Eight people died. I don't want a medal for that."

"Five of them were bad guys, Jane!"

"Whatever…."

She placed the uniform on the arm of the couch. "This ceremony isn't for you," Maura started, joining Jane on the couch. She patted Jane's left leg – which the detective had just outstretched and put in her lap – before continuing. "This is – this is for… your fellow officers, and your parents, and your community. You're a symbol. You are a heroic flesh and blood reminder of the thin blue line."

Jane smiled at her. "That's good." She nodded. "You almost had me." She said, turning back to her computer screen.

"Okay," Maura stood up, pushing Jane's leg out of the way and causing her to wince. "The hard way." Maura decided, unsympathetic to her plight. She reached forward and pulled the other woman up. "Don't even think about sitting back down or I'll poke you in your scar tissue." She warned.

Jane just sighed. She knew that if she were to fight it she would regret it immensely. Though – and she would never admit it – she was actually looking forward to the hard way. She had a feeling it would be very amusing. In more ways than one.

"You're going to make me do everything, aren't you?"

Jane shrugged, then winced as the action jostled her injury. "You don't _have _to. You're free to just leave."

Maura just sighed in frustration. "I swear, you're just like a six-year-old." She said as she pulled down the zipper on Jane's beige hoodie, revealing the blue shirt underneath.

When fingers started to grip the bottom of her shirt and pull up, Jane moved away in protest. "Can't I just wear what I am now under it?"

Maura gave her a look that showed her that there was no way that was going to happen and continued, peeling the blue garment off.

Jane became extremely self-conscious, which was odd because this wasn't the first time Maura had seen her in a sports bra and sweatpants – pretty much her yoga outfit. She was sure that doing almost nothing but lounging on the couch for three months didn't really help her figure.

The shorter woman frowned when she realized they were missing something and went back into Jane's bedroom. She grimaced again at the state of the room, made a mental reminder to come back to clean, and ruffled through Jane's drawers for the needed items.

Jane saw the socks, white shirt and the bra that Maura held in her hands and her eyes widened. "Oh no, _this_," she placed a finger on the grey sports bra, "is staying on!"

Maura was about to open her mouth to protest but decided otherwise. "Fine. It's not as supportive but..." She said, words drifting off as she tossed the undergarment aside and readied the clean white shirt to place over Jane's head. She looked at the other woman expectantly. After a few moments she spoke up. "Arms up."

She did as she was told and let her slip the shirt on. Her stomach did a flip when Maura a hand down her abdomen to smooth out the fabric. The flip turned to butterflies as soon as those same fingers curled around the material of her pants and started to pull down.

The M.E. squatted down to follow the pant's fabric along the shapely legs. She lifted up one of them to complete the task but found resistance from a sock. With a sharp tug, however, both items came off the body and she mirrored the move with the other side. Her gaze stayed on Jane's calf a beat too long and, as she was standing up, she berated herself for the action.

Jane watched Maura curiously. It looked like she was taking a moment to compose herself before grabbing the pants and holding them out.

"Step in."

Jane just gave her a look. She didn't want to make it that easy for her and she was fully intent on seeing this through to the end.

Maura just grumbled. "I guess this _is _the hard way." She placed a hand on Jane's chest and pushed forward, causing the other woman to fall backwards on the couch with a painful groan. From there she slid the navy blue slacks up far enough so that she could pull Jane right back up and finish the job. She prayed Jane couldn't hear the volume of her beating heart as she buttoned and zippered up the pants even though she knew it was medically impossible for it to be that loud. Internally, she shook it off, before sliding the black belt through the cloth loops.

Jane's eyes met Maura's when she stood up. They stood there for a moment and recognized the uncomfortable air between them.

"You're a lot less squirmy than I thought you'd be." Maura said a beat later, trying to diffuse the ever thickening tension.

"Well… having a bullet hole in you makes it hard to be."

"It's closed up by now, you know…"

"Yeah? Doesn't feel like it."

She frowned at that and tried to think of possible reasons for her friend's affliction as she grabbed the jacket. She unbuttoned it on its hanger before placing it around Jane's shoulders and slipping the other woman's arms in. Her hand's traveled down Jane's front as she placed the buttons through their respective holes.

Jane gulped at the nearness of the other woman and felt stirrings in her chest of something she couldn't quite identify.

After securing the knot in her black tie, Maura grabbed Jane's badge to pin it in place before grabbing the B.P.D. pins that were to go on the collar. When she finished affixing them, she looked up at the detective's face. Her brows furrowed. "Your pupils are dilated. Have you been drinking?" She leaned forward and sniffed to try and detect a hint of alcohol on Jane's breath to see for herself.

"What? No!" She backed away. "And stop smelling me!"

She just gave her a curious glance, not saying anything further. The issue was by no means dropped but she figured – since they were running low on time – now was not the moment. She picked up the dropped socks and held them up. "Are you going to sit or am I going to have to push you again?"

Jane sat down willingly and let Maura slide the socks on before doing the same with her black dress shoes. As soon as they were tied she was pulled up as the other woman stood.

Maura tucked the fabric of the jacket into Jane's pants and sighed. "That wasn't so hard now was it? Think you can do it yourself next time?"

She regarded it for a moment. "Nah. I think those medieval people had the right idea when they had those servants do all this stuff for them."

"I am not your servant, Jane."

"Really? Then why did you just dress me?"

She couldn't seem to come up with a witty enough response so she just sighed. "Shut up and let me do your hair."

XXXXX Present Day XXXXX

"Please, Jane!" Maura pleaded.

"No, Maura! I've gone to yoga with you regularly and I've gotten clay in places I didn't even know I had! I am not embarrassing myself in some dance class!"

"It's not just _some _dance class! We are going to be learning the Tango: a well known sub-genre of ballroom dance that has a very rich history in Argentinean culture."

"I don't care if it was made by some space alien who wanted to rid the galaxy of poor dance routines! I'm not going!"

"Please?" She tried again, this time sticking her bottom lip out.

Jane looked away as quickly as she could but it was too late. Her determination softened at the gesture and she sighed in defeat. "Fine."

"Yay!" Maura jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jane. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah…" She said, feigning disinterest, though she had a smile on her face from the embrace. When they pulled away, a thought occurred to her. "Why can't you just go by yourself?"

"Because I wanted to share this with you. You _are _my best friend."

Jane smiled at that. It slowly faded as she realized something. "You're gonna make us wear some crazy outfit, aren't you?"

"I hadn't thought of that." She considered it for a moment before continuing. "I _did _see some dresses the other day that are quite like the traditional ones for the dance."

"I swear to God, I'm locking myself in my apartment if you even _think _about putting me in one of those!"

"Don't worry; we'll be out of place if we show up in them. Just wear something black and form fitting and you should be fine."

"I can barely contain my excitement."

XXXXX

"Okay! I want everyone to line up and follow me. I want to see what I'm working with here." He said before starting to do the very basic moves that they would be practicing in this session. He watched the group, focusing in on each person periodically, before speaking again. "Keep going." He stopped his movements and went over to the line of people. He fixed the posture of several people, one of which was Jane who had to suppress her urge to push the man away.

They continued this for a few minutes longer to get used to the movements. Jane accidentally bumped into Maura a few times until she got into the rhythm.

The instructor smiled and clapped his hands. "Okay, looks good! Now pair up!"

A nervous murmur paired with the shuffling of feet broke out in the room as people went to find someone to dance with.

"Jane? Would you like to dance together?" Maura offered, sensing her friend's nervousness at the situation.

She just nodded in response, grateful that she wouldn't have to dance with some random guy. She was more thankful, however, that she didn't have to watch Maura dance with somebody else.

Soon the whole room was in couples. The instructor scanned the room as he walked around and stopped in front of the two. "Ladies! Where are your partners?"

They scooted closer together, nonverbally stating that they were each other's partner.

"No, no, no. This won't do." He scanned the remainder of the crowd and smiled when he spotted two men standing close to each other. "Ah! You two, come here." He motioned with his hand, causing the two to breathe a sigh of relief at not being partnered together before they went over to join him. "You two will dance with these ladies." He stated before taking his place at the front of the room once again.

The two men looked at each other and shrugged before moving towards whichever woman was nearest to them.

"Hi, I'm Matt." The black haired man said as he extended his hand.

Jane suppressed an irritated sigh and shook it. "Jane."

The other man had a suave smile on his face as he reached his hand out to Maura. "I'm Greg."

Maura met his hand and returned the smile. "Maura."

"Pretty name. It's fitting."

Maura giggled. "Thank you."

Jane rolled her eyes and was about to make a sarcastic comment before the instructor clapped to get their attention.

"I want you to be very sensual with your partner. This is supposed to be a sexy dance." The male instructor said in his thick accent.

Jane shot a glance at Maura and her partner. She wasn't sure she liked the thought of Mr. Grabby-Hands there being "sensual" with her Maura.

Maura, feeling a gaze on her, looked over at Jane, and caught her eye. Mistaking her look for one of nervousness, she shot her a supportive smile.

"Your hips and legs must be very close so that you can read your partner's movements quickly. Ladies, when he moves, you move. Like so." He took his partner's hands and demonstrated the previous words. After a moment he pulled away. "Now you try! And keep going until I tell you to stop."

It took a few seconds before anyone in the room started the short routine. And a few moments more before the short man started to make his way around the room.

"Very nice form." He complimented, looking at Maura. "You were a dancer, weren't you?"

"Ballet." She affirmed.

He nodded. "Yes, I can see that." He continued onward, fixing a few hand placements, and stopped at Jane and Matt. He sighed. "Did you two listen to anything I said?" He moved closer and fixed almost everything about their stance and movements. When Jane moved back after she was pushed closer to the man, he repeated the action. "You need to stay _close. _Feel your partner's movements. Become one with rhythm and passion."

Jane pulled away from the man and pointed a finger at him. "Listen, twinkle-toes. I have no intention on being one with 'rhythm and passion'." She said, spitting out his own words in a mocking tone. "I don't even want to be here! You're getting a paycheck anyway so just leave me alone!"

"It's not about the money! It's about the power of dance!" He shot back. "But if you wish to just waste this opportunity that's up to you, though it's not very fair to your partner."

An inaudible grumble came from the woman. "Fine, whatever. I'll try. Just don't touch me."

"Alright, as long as you try. That's all I ask." He said before moving onto the next couple.

"So, uh… does that go for me too?" Matt asked in a slightly fearful voice.

"No, you idiot. We're dance partners. We're supposed to touch." She was feeling easily irritated and she wasn't quite sure why. A glance to her right gave her the answer. Maura and Greg were _very _close, dancing in perfect rhythm. A flood of jealousy overtook her and she let out a growl.

Matt got a sinking feeling that he definitely got stuck with the wrong partner.

It didn't take too long for the lesson to be done and Jane couldn't be happier.

"Thank God that's over with!" Jane exclaimed. "I'm never doing this again!"

"What do you mean?" Maura asked quizzically. "This is a two week long class. We have to go in every night."

The detective's heart sunk. "You're kidding me."

"Of course not, Jane."

She just sighed. What did she get herself into?

XXXXX

Almost a full week passed – each night filled with another lesson. Twice during the week Jane, Matt and Greg met Maura at her house for practice. Their sessions were filled with jokes and laughs – on Maura and Greg's part – and grumbles and stubbed toes – on Jane and Matt's.

That Friday was their midpoint recital. To determine the order, each couple pulled a numbered slip of paper from a hat. Jane sighed in relief when she pulled out an eight – the exact number of couples in the room. Maura, however, got a three and was only disappointed with the fact that she couldn't go sooner.

After two people went, where one group easily better than the other, Maura was up. Jane's heart sunk when they took their very close positions. As if the other was merely a reflection in a mirror, their legs matched moves perfectly. The dance was flowy and easy, not to mention a little steamy.

When Maura's leg went up to wrap around Greg's waist, Jane knew she had enough. She left the circle that was surrounding the two dancers and exited the room quickly. Matt watched her go and briefly wondered if he should go see if she was okay. They didn't really get along but she was still her partner. Eventually he decided to stay and watch the dance.

After another few minutes Maura's dance concluded and she smiled, knowing she did a good job. Her gaze went to where Jane was last standing to see her reaction but frowned when she saw it vacant. While Greg went to stand where the next couple was previously at, Maura went up to Matt.

"Where is she?"

He shrugged. "She just took off. Might have gone to the bathroom or something but she didn't say anything to me."

"Thank you." She said and then left the room. There weren't very many places her best friend could be since the building was relatively small, as it mostly consisted of the room she just left. She checked the bathroom, which was empty, before heading outside. She found Jane by the car they showed up in.

When Jane heard the front door open she looked up and saw Maura. Her heart simultaneously lifted with joy and sunk in dread. She really wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

"I'm surprised you didn't take the car." She stated, knowing the fact that when Jane wanted to get away from something she would go as far away as possible.

"I would have but… you have the keys."

"You don't have to dance, you know. It's not mandatory."

"That's not why I left…"

"Then why?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"No, Jane. You're not just going to push me away. I'm going to get an answer out of you!"

The detective stayed silent even though she wanted to make a sarcastic comment about how she wasn't normally on the receiving end of an interrogation.

Maura held her gaze and, when Jane looked away, she took the taller woman's chin in her hand to face it towards her again.

"Maura…" She said with a warning tone.

Said woman didn't even waver. "Just tell me. Why did you storm out like that?"

The question was met with silence.

"I can do this the easy way or the ha–" Her words were cut off when Jane moved forward and pressed their lips together, unable to resist the temptation any longer.

Maura's eyes fluttered closed as her eyebrows quirked up in bliss.

Jane pulled away, sure that the action was unwelcome. She was surprised when, instead of getting a lecture, she got pulled back in.

The M.E. certainly wasn't ready for the kiss to end. She moved her lips against the currently still ones in front of her.

When Jane answered the action, every synapse in their bodies fired off a signal of pleasure. Her tongue traced around the inner edge of Maura's lip, coaxing out a moan.

When they pulled away after a few moments of unabashed affection, Jane could only breathe out one word. "Wow."

Maura just nodded in agreement, unable to speak herself.

"But… but what about…" She pointed inside.

"Greg? What about him?"

"You looked like you got along pretty well this week."

"We did. That doesn't mean anything."

"But he was all over you and you didn't push him away!" She said, feeling slightly insecure.

"Jane, it's the tango. That's how it's danced."

"So it's not because you're attracted to him?"

"Well… he does have a very strong jaw line. And he has a nice shoulder to hip ratio." She saw Jane deflate and continued. "But he's not you."

"Really?"

"You're just fishing for compliments, aren't you?"

"No. I'm just not too sure why you would rather be with me than him."

Maura's eyes softened and she cupped Jane's cheek. "You're my best friend, Jane. I feel more comfortable with you than I've ever felt with anyone in my life. I cherish every second we spend together and my physical reactions to your proximity are _very _intense."

Jane smiled. "Aww… ditto."

They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before Jane spoke up. "So, um… should we go back in? It's probably almost your turn."

"Do I have to?"

"Well… I _was_ looking forward to seeing your body move. Maybe it'll get me in the mood for later." She said with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows.

Jane perked up, grabbed Maura's hand, and started to run back inside. "Then let's go!"


End file.
